The Netflix (NFLX +1.9%) advantage: The company is using its treasure trove of internal consumer...

The Netflix (NFLX+1.9%) advantage: The company is using its treasure trove of internal consumer data to tailor its advertising and promotions to consumer preferences. For House of Cards, users see different trailers for the series depending upon the likelihood that they are a fan of Kevin Space, Robyn Wright, or director David Fincher. While the company's algorithm has been touted in the past as cutting edge, with original content now a focus, it may be more crucial than ever.

Is this quant thing being oversold on the basis of one hit? Good quote in NYT NFLX article yesterday: John Landgraf, who, as president and general manager of FX Networks, has had a good run at the channel in finding hits, said he thought numbers-crunching would never have predicted the success of “The Sopranos,” “South Park,” and “Mad Men,” among others, including hits he has said yes to, like “Sons of Anarchy.” “Data can only tell you what people have liked before, not what they don’t know they are going to like in the future,” he said. “A good high-end programmer’s job is to find the white spaces in our collective psyche that aren’t filled by an existing television show,” adding, those choices were made “in a black box that data can never penetrate.”

I don't understand why NFLX would have any sort of competitive advantage in producing content. That's a tough business with a lot of very experienced competitors who still get it wrong on a regular basis (think of the last big budget movie flop from a major studio). It seems to me they should make distribution their expertise and become expert buyers (not producers) of content.

Everyone wants to cut the cable. With Netflix and now hulu producing their own content its getting closer to reality. I'm so close to dropping cable TV. If I could get HBO GO with a subscription instead of a contract with a cable company I'd be gone.

They have to have a something different, if NFLX, AMZN, and HULU have the same shows, why would you pick NFLX? NFLX doesn't want to be a cable company where it doesn't matter who you pick, they all have the same programming. They want to be a considered a channel, and have the identity that goes along with it. And besides, compared to other programmings, NFLX isn't spending that much on original programming.